Cristian Zuzunaga

Cristian Zuzunaga was born in 1978 in Barcelona. The child of a Catalan mother and a Peruvian father, his multicultural background instilled in him a strong sense of curiosity, a desire to explore the world and look at ways in which to define it and one's place within it. From the age of 17, he lived and travelled around the world, eventually settling down in London where he has lived for the last 13 years.

Zuzunaga studied a BA in Typo/Graphic Design at the London College of Communication, followed by an MA at the Royal College of Art. Originally a student of biology, he was fascinated by the microscope and the way in which it enabled one to magnify an object to break it down into its smallest parts. Though the biological studies did not last, the practice of magnifying did and to this day, breaking down patterns and images into their infinitesimal components remains at the core of his work.

Zuzunaga's work is broad in scope and includes print, letterpress, photography, sculpture, textile and furniture design. Rather than focusing on one form of expression, he chooses the one most appropriate to each artwork. He also explores the use of colour as a means to evoke emotions and counterbalance negative ways of seeing and thinking. The therapeutic values of colour have been widely documented, yet many of us still live in a world of black, white and grey. He uses colour as a spatial medium that enforces identity and encourages interaction between individuals and their surroundings.

Zuzunaga is influenced by architecture and the urban environment, Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, anthropology, sociology, the psychology of Carl Gustav Jung and in particular, the latter's concept of the individuation of the soul - a process of psychological integration whereby the unconscious is brought into consciousness to be assimilated into the whole personality.

Cristian Zuzunaga now divides his time between Barcelona and London. He is currently working on a number of artistic and design-led projects and collaborations.